Ashok Vashandani, a prominent Indian trader in the city (left), receives from Region 1 Medical Center (R1MC) Director , Dr. Jesus Canto a recognition and appreciation award for helping provide ease and comfort for medical patients thru donations of electric fans at the wards. Looking on at right is Dr. Felonila Canto, wife of the RIMC chief. Other civic-spirited citizens were feted by the medical center in simple ceremonies at the frontyard of RIMC last week. (Pangasinan Star Photo)

By Venus May H. Sarmiento

Assistant Secretary Antonio A. Villar, Jr. of the Department of Transportation and Communications has resigned his post Thursday, citing alleged corruption in the land transport sector as his reason for leaving.

Villar, founder and chair of the multiparty group Biskeg na Pangasinan, and a former multi-term mayor of Sto. Tomas, said his “irrevocable” letter of resignation submitted to President Arroyo Sept. 1, that he was “nauseated by the web of corruption in the bureaucracy, particularly in the land transport sector of the DOTC.”

Villar admitted that having already shown his disgust at the corruption in the DOTC, he was being wooed by elements in and outside the administration for their own ends and agenda. He claimed however he had no desire to jump over to “the other side of the political spectrum.”

“I would rather be a credible non-partisan critic of misgovernance,” the man credited for his town’s giving a “zero vote” for the late presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. in the May 2004 elections, said.

DOTC Undersecretary Ricardo Alfonso of the land transport sector, reacting to Villar’s inferences, however, said he does not understand what corruption the assistant secretary was referring to in his sector.

“Maybe, he was concerned about land transport in his hometown. I really don’t know what he was talking about,” Alfonso said.

A report said Villar has submitted a letter of resignation to Malacanang in late May, which was supposed to be effective on June 1. He had cited at that time his being unproductive in the air sector of DOTC because of lack of funds for his office. His resignation, however, was not accepted.

FEELING the aggressive stance of the Dagupan city government to collect taxes from big firms operating in the city, a telecommunications giant last Monday paid some P4.6 million in franchise tax.

Mayor Benjamin S. Lim received the payment from representatives of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company. He promptly lauded the firm for showing the way to other big companies doing business in the city in settling their tax obligations.

Lim, at the same time, praised the efforts of City Legal Officer Geraldine Baniqued to demand tax payments from telecommunication companies doing business in Dagupan. Demand letters were sent to the companies to settle their back franchise taxes.

While PLDT complied with its obligation, rival firm Digital Telecommunications Company (Digitel) has yet to act on the demand letter, it was gathered.

Baniqued said Digitel failed to show its gross receipts as basis for tax payment.

While she was then the provincial legal officer of Pangasinan, Baniqued, it will be recalled, filed complaints against Digital Telecommunications for failure to pay its taxes to the provincial government. She also filed complaints against other companies like the Mirant Philippines/Sual which operates the Sual Coal-fired Power Plant.

Sual and the provincial government are now reaping a bonanza after Mirant agreed to a settlement and paid its taxes, minus accumulated interest slapped on it in the provincial government complaint. (DOS)

MANGALDAN – A priest at the local parish church was hospitalized after he was attacked by an unidentified man who sneaked into his room at the priests’ quarters at past 12 noon Monday for a still unknown reason.

The victim was identified as Fr. Francisco Posadas, an associate priest at the St. Thomas Aquinas Parish here, who was hit in the head with an empty bottle of softdrink, boxed several times in the body and face and bitten by the lone suspect in the left ear.

Posadas was rushed to the Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan City, where he was treated for injuries in the head and ear, and is now out of danger.

Investigation showed that while Posadas was talking to two visitors at the priests’ quarters, he excused himself to go to his room after he apparently saw or heard someone or something there. Inside, he saw a stranger who immediately attacked him with first blows.

Retired Navy Capt. Jorge de Vera, now a lay leader of the parish, was among those who helped rush Posadas to the hospital. De Vera theorized that Posadas may have been bitten by the suspect when he resisted and held on to the latter after being hit in the head with an empty bottle of softdrink.

The intruder could have inflicted even more harm on the priest had not one of his visitors, Amado Baluyo followed Posadas to his room. The suspect escaped and immediately boarded a white Toyota car with Plate No. PPP-795.

Mangaldan Police Chief, Supt. Segundo Adaliga said the get-away vehicle was found abandoned in barangay Bonuan Binloc in Dagupan City, about five kilometers from Mangaldan town proper.

A check with the Land Transportation Office showed the plate number was issued to one Murphy Dustin of 12th Avenue, Quezon City, but there was a strong probability the car may have been stolen, police said.

Adaliga told newsmen that the National Bureau of Investigation was asked to help by lifting latent fingerprints that may have been left by the suspect on the abandoned get-away car.

A GOVERNMENT doctor has confirmed that there are two strains of dengue found in Pangasinan patients based on the blood cultures analyzed so far.

Dr. Jesus Canto, chief of the Region 1 Medical Center, said these strains were a non-violent type found mostly among patients from western Pangasinan and the violent type that appeared to afflict those from western Pangasinan.

Canto said the violent type of dengue was what attacked two patients who have died, one of them from western Pangasinan. These, he said, were the first casualties from dengue, Canto said.

He added that the boy died a few minutes after arrival because when he was admitted at R1MC, his platelet count had dropped to as low as 2 to 4 as he already had continuous bleeding.

The normal platelet count of a person is from 150 to 300, he said.

Dengue patients need fresh platelets to replace those destroyed by the virus that cause the disease.

Canto said from August 1 to 27, a total of 65 dengue patients had already been admitted to R1MC compared to 60 patients admitted for the whole month of July.
Dengue cases are expected to rise some more this September because the rainy season is not yet over.

The R1MC is the usual destination of dengue patients in Pangasinan because it is the only hospital in the Ilocos Region that has a blood separator machine thus assuring them of a ready supply of blood platelets.

Acquired by R1MC two years ago, the blood separator machine separates all ingredients of the blood, like the Packed RBC, frozen plasma and platelet concentrates.

In the past, Canto said the hospital placed the blood on standby for many hours till the serum is separated.

With the blood separator, platelet concentrates are now available any time the patient needs it. If not for this machine, the hospital could be still buying its supply of blood platelets from Manila for use by its dengue patients, he said.

THE dreaded meningococcemia has claimed its fourth victim in Pangasinan. A 40-year old man from Binmaley died last Wednesday in one of the private hospitals in Dagupan City.

Dr. Leonard Carbonell, city health officer in Dagupan City, said he talked to the sister of the victim over the phone who said the attending physician at the Villaflor Hospital told them to bury their dead within 12 hours and prohibited them from holding a wake.

The family did what was advised them but consulted Carbonell when they saw in the death certificate that the cause of death was septicemia.

Carbonell advised the family that the attending physician did the right thing because he was not so sure it was meningococcemia that caused the death of the patient, adding that septecemia was the safest description of the disease, which means bacteria was present in the blood.

In infectious disease such as meningococcemia, the blood culture of the patient is sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Manila for detailed laboratory analysis before a definite medical finding is ever announced.

Three other persons suspected to have died of meningococcemia were a six-year old boy from Malasiqui, and two middle-aged men from Balungao and Sta. Barbara, who all died in a private hospital in Dagupan on different dates.

Carbonell confirmed the death of the six-year old boy from Malasiqui in a private hospital based on a report relayed to him.

It was Dr. Jose Soriano, leader of the Provincial Health Team stationed in Pangasinan, meanwhile who confirmed the two suspected meningococcemia cases from Balungao and Sta. Barbara.

Soriano said it is not yet safe to say the patients died from meningococcemia because the results of the analysis of the blood culture of the patients have not yet been released by RITM.

Asked if the situation as far as meningococcemia in Pangasinan is now getting alarming, Carbonell said it is not if all safety measures are undertaken in all those cases recorded.
He said a hospital may be expected to register three cases of meningococcemia in a year but if the cases occurred in a span of one or two weeks, this can possibly be called an abnormal situation.

MIXED reactions greeted the ongoing hearing by the House justice committee on the impeachment charges against President Arroyo.

A quick response survey on a cross section of society in Pangasinan showed the local populace here is divided on whether to continue with the committee hearing and bring it to the Senate or terminate the hearing outright at the House.

A radio announcer of Bombo Dagupan said it was better for the justice committee to terminate the hearing since the motive of the pro-impeachment congressmen was very obvious, which is, to remove the President.

Another local mediamen who is writing for a weekly newspaper said there are more pressing matters that need more and immediate attention by Congress – the problems affecting the country like rising prices, oil price increases, terrorism, and other issues. But he clarified that if there is enough and weighty evidence against the Chief Executive, the House, he said, should bring the impeachment complaint to the Senate “for the people to know the truth” about the accusations against her.

An employee from Dagupan City who favored impeaching the President said that the move would not prosper at all because the pro-impeachment solons lack the number to elevate the complaint to the Upper House.

A lawyer-board member admitted that both sides, for and against, have made very good arguments on what to do with the three complaints. He said he would go for the provisions of the Constitution.

“Parang walang nangyayari sa impeachment proceedings,” observed a student from the University of Pangasinan, adding that while she was neutral, she wanted the proceeding to continue to once and for all know the truth about the allegations. “Dapat matuloy ang impeachment para lumabas ang totoo kung talagang nandaya ang Pangulo, para matapos na rin ang mga rallies,” a field researcher said.

LINGAYEN – Can public officials bring home their government-issued vehicle after office hours?

This query came to the fore in the wake of the carnapping of the service vehicle issued to Provincial Accountant Rodolfo Carolino last Sunday.

Provincial Administrator Virgilio Solis said government-issued vehicles are to be left at the motorpool after office hours per Executive Order NO. 31 Exempted from the rule however are vehicles issued to the governor, the vice-governor and department heads of the provincial government, he clarified.

He quickly added that such vehicles cannot be used afterwards since they are meant to be used for official purposes only. On using the vehicles for official trips that may occur even weekends, Solis said travel orders and trip tickets have to be secured.

Carolino, as an official of the association of certified accountants (PICPA) used his service vehicle lat Saturday. It was carnapped on the morning of the next day.

Solis said he has asked the provincial accountant to exhaust all remedies to retrieve the vehicle and also coordinate with the Government Service Insurance system about the car’s insurance (DOS)

URDANETA CITY – A Muslim youth high on drugs surrendered to the police after a one-hour standoff shortly after taking a girl hostage in a subdivision in barangay Nancayasan here Wednesday night.

Policemen led by Inspector Genevieve Battiw immediately cordoned off the house where Rashid Benito, alias “Paklay” held hostage seven year-old Anita Pimba, a daughter of another Muslim family.

The incident happened at 7:35 p.m. last Aug. 24 inside the Doña Loleng Subdivision. Benito took as prisoner the daughter of their neighbor, a Grade I pupil. He later agreed to lay down his weapon, a fan knife, after a one-hour negotiation, Battiw said.

After the rescue, the girl was rushed to the Sacred Heart Hospital for treatment of her stab wound in the abdomen. The police said appropriate charges are now being readied for filing against the suspect who was tagged as a long-time drug user. (PNA)

“WE owe Dagupeño children these four gifts.”

The City Health Office called on barangay health workers and department heads who attended a recent orientation/briefing to stress on the 4 Gifts for Children in a conference at the Victorio Edades Hall of the City Musuem..

The “four gifts” are the Local State of the Children Report, Local Development Plan for Children, Local Investment Plan for Children and the Local Code for Children, according to the CHO.

The local Council for the Protection of Children will work with the barangays to update existing local reports or create new plans in time for the target ‘gift giving’ in October during the celebration of National Children’s Month.

Worksheets outlining child rights, indicators and status per indicator were distributed to participants to enable them to include child rights in local development planning.
City Social Welfare and Development Officer Elsa Santillan said the local council was created to orient people on the minimum basic needs of children. City Nutrition Officer Leah Aquino facilitated the workshop.

Children have the following rights: right to life, right to a name, nationality and identity, right to health, right to be protected from abuse and neglect, right of the disabled child to special care, right to social security, right to be protected from commercial and sexual exploitation, right to education, right to rest and leisure, right to opinion, right to freedom of association and right to freedom of expression;

Right to enjoy one’s culture and religion, right to adequate standard of living, right to parental care and support, right to information, right to privacy, right to be safe in emergency or especially difficult circumstances, and right to legal assistance and appropriate judicial processes. (Sheila H. Aquino)